Cook County Clerk

Cook County Clerk
Incumbent
Vacant
since April 7, 2024
Term length4 years
FormationMarch 1831 (appointed position)
August 1837 (elected position)

The Cook County Clerk is the clerk of county government in Cook County, Illinois.

History

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The office of Cook County Clerk was established as an elected office with a four-year term in August 1837. Prior to this, from 1831 to 1837, the Clerk was appointed by the three Cook County Commissioners.[1]

Officeholders, 1837–present

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# Clerk Term in office Party Notes Cite
1st George Davis 1837–1849 First elected Cook County Clerk [1]
2nd Edmund S. Kimberly 1849–1853 [1]
3rd
Charles B. Farwell 1853–1861 [1]
4th
Laurin P. Hilliard 1861–1865 [1]
5th
Edward S. Salomon 1865–November 1869 Republican [2][3]
6th
John G. Gindele 1869–January 1872 Died in office [1]
7th George W. Wheeler 1873–December 1873 [1]
8th
Hermann Lieb 1873–December 1877 [1]
9th
Ernest F.C. Klokke 1877–December 1882 Term extended, by law, for one year [1]
10th Michael W. Ryan 1882–December 1886 [1]
11th
Henry Wulff 1886–1894 Republican
12th
Philip Knopf 1894–1902 Republican
13th
Peter B. Olsen 1902–1906 Republican
14th
Joseph F. Haas 1906–1910 Republican [4]
15th
Robert Sweitzer December 1910–December 1934 Democratic Elected in 1910, 1914, 1918, 1922, 1926, 1930, 1934; resigned to serve as Cook County Treasurer in December 1934
16th Michael J. Flynn 1935–1950 Democratic Appointed in 1935; elected in 1938, 1942, 1946
17th
Richard J. Daley December 1950 – 1955 Democratic Elected in 1950 and 1954; resigned in 1955 to serve as mayor of Chicago
18th
Edward J. Barrett 1955–1973 Democratic Appointed in 1955; elected in 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970; resigned in 1973
19th Stanley Kusper 1973–December 1990 Democratic Appointed in 1973, elected in 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986 [5]
20th
David Orr December 1990–December 2018 Democratic Elected in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
21st
Karen Yarbrough December 2018–April 2024 Democratic Elected in 2018 and 2022; died in office in April 2024 [6]
Cedric Giles
(acting)
2024–present Acting clerk

Recent election results

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Cook County Clerk general elections
Year Winning candidate Party Vote (pct) Opponent Party Vote (pct) Opponent Party Vote (pct) Opponent Party Vote (pct)
1986[7] Stanley Kusper Democratic 929,949 (68.35%) Diana Nelson Republican 430,568 (31.35%)
1990[8] David D. Orr Democratic 799,884 (63.48%) Sam Panayotovich Republican 353,531 (28.06%) Heldia R. Richardson Harold Washington Party 106,588 (8.46%)
1994 David D. Orr Democratic Edward Howlett Republican Herman W. Baker, Jr. Harold Washington Party Curtis Jones Populist
1998[9] David D. Orr Democratic 988,136 (77.30%) Judie A. Jones Republican 290,256 (22.70%)
2002[10][11] David D. Orr Democratic 992,441 (76.11%) Kathleen A. Thomas Republican 311,552 (23.89%)
2006[12] David D. Orr Democratic 1,034,263 (80.78%) Nancy Carlson Republican 246,044 (19.22%)
2010[13] David D. Orr Democratic 1,047,462 (77.77%) Angel Garcia Republican 299,449 (22.23%)
2014[14] David D. Orr Democratic 1,061,515 (100%)
2018[15] Karen Yarbrough Democratic 1,415,244 (99.07%) Others Write-ins 13,120 (0.93%)
2022[16] Karen Yarbrough Democratic 1,003,854 (71.58%) Tony Peraica Republican 368,095 (26.26%) Joseph Schreiner Libertarian 30,514 (2.18%)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Chicago: A.T. Andreas. 1886.
  2. ^ Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1885). From 1857 until the fire of 1871. A. T. Andreas. p. 235. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. ^ Benjaminson, Eric (2001). "A Regiment of Immigrants: The 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry and the Letters of Captain Rudolph Mueller". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 94 (2): 137–180. ISSN 1522-1067. JSTOR 40193360. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  4. ^ Chicago Daily News National Almanac for 1910. Chicago Daily News. 1909. p. 459. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  5. ^ Hardy, Thomas (February 26, 1990). "STANLEY KUSPER HAS FEW REGRETS ABOUT PATH HIS CAREER HAS TAKEN". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Lewis, Sean; Smith, Andrew (April 7, 2024). "Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough dies at 73". WGN 9. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
  8. ^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1990" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
  9. ^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998" (PDF). results.cookcountyclerkil.gov.
  10. ^ "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2002 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  11. ^ "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS". voterinfonet.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
  12. ^ "Cook County and the City of Chicago Combined Summary Report November 2006 General Election Tuesday, November 7th, 2006" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 22, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  13. ^ "Cook County General Election November 2, 2010 Combined Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  14. ^ "General Election Cook County and The City of Chicago Tuesday, November 4, 2014 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Cook County and The City of Chicago General Election November 6, 2018 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  16. ^ "Tabulated Statement of the Returns and Proclamation of the Results of the Canvass of the Election Returns for the November 8, 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Held in Each of the Precincts in Cook County, Illinois Including the City of Chicago" (PDF). www.cookcountyclerkil.gov. Cook County Clerk. 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
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